A little perspective for the occupation
Life is hard. This is a fact, has been since the beginning of time. According to my belief system, it's a necessary factor for fulfilling our purpose on earth. I've been interested in survival and self sufficiency for sometime, and I had the impression that it would be somewhat easy to live off the land on things you could gather and hunt, but as I have begun to do this (urban foraging and dumpster diving) as a way to stretch our family budget, I've realized how very difficult it is, even in a climate rich with diverse and plentiful wild food, to collect enough to even make a tiny difference in our food budget. This is why we see cases of starvation like Chris Mccandless and others who entered the wilderness unprepared for what it actually takes to survive. This is why when human beings lived solely off of hunting and gathering, it took entire communities every waking hour to collect, process and and prepare enough food for everyone to just barely survive. Some cultures still live like this. The men hunt, the women and all but the very smallest of the children gather wild food, grind flour, and spend all day processing this raw material into something barely edible, and everyone goes to bed hungry. This is why agricultural was invented, but still, factors such as drought, storms or pestilence frequently caused widespread famine.
It has been this way for thousands of years of human history. Of course, some were very wealthy, the aristocracy lived in comfort feeding off the hard work of others like the parasites they were, and the vast majority of the population lived in squalor and desperation, never having access to medical care to treat even the most minor of medical problems, only wearing the clothes they were able to make from the few resources they had access to, spending every hour of every day engaged in back breaking labor, and never more than a hiccup away from starvation.
Then something happened, a miracle that changed man kind forever. A republic was born, liberty was had among people, free market capitalism was allowed to thrive for a time, leading to an industrial revolution. Goods and food began to be produced en-mass and people began to prosper. Despite an evil cancer growing within that threatens to destroy this prosperity to this day, one that rewards inadequacy and punishes excellence. Despite the attempt to curb the free market and discourage growth and prosperity with government regulations and bureaucratic intervention, these principles have still allowed mankind to live better and in more comfort than ever before.
I ask you, the average American, even the poorest of Americans, when was the last time you were really truly hungry and had no way to satisfy that hunger? When was the last time you were cold and had no where to seek shelter or obtain clothing? Because of the prosperity caused by capitalism, no one with even the tiniest amount of resourcefulness has to go without these basic necessities. Can you not see how amazingly spectacular that is?So, you want to tear down this system, which has provided all of us with this impossible amount of safety and comfort because you are having an adolescent tantrum about the debt you agreed to pay in exchange for getting something you wanted? Because someone has more than you, you think this means you're entitled to more than you've earned? Do you honestly think that freedom from debt and more material wealth will make you happy, when you haven't earned it honestly? Would you rather have things than self respect?
No, I get it. I was raised by the me generation too, in the age of self esteem and everyone gets a trophy, and don't try to be the best, because then those who aren't will feel bad. After all, emotions rule all, and any action is justifiable on the basis of emotion. When I had children, I started to grow up. Upon reflection, my attitude and actions never brought me happiness or security, in fact there was a deep unrest in my soul and I lived in constant fear of being exposed for the fraud and the leach I really was. I realized that my children would be more successful in life if they could earn for themselves self respect as opposed to being handed self esteem. So, we lead by example, we teach them the the value of hard work and the great joy of accomplishment.
What if you succeed at your goals? What if you were to take every body's money, put it in a big pot, and distribute it to every person on earth completely evenly? Of course this would never happen, we see that from history, every time a government is overthrown, an aristocracy always forms at the top in the void left behind, but lets pretend. I don't know if you've done the math, but if you take the world's total wealth, divided evenly, each man, woman and child on earth would receive somewhere around $17,935.31. That may sound like a lot for a moment, but it does not go far, especially when you factor in that you have just eliminated any possibility or motivation for anyone to produce goods, provide services, grow food, or create jobs. Why would anyone want to work hard when the fruits of their labors will be stolen and given to the bottom feeders of society, and if they did, where would they get the capital with which to get it done? You just stole all their money! Capitalism has nurtured ingenuity and encouraged innovation, because it allowed people to prosper from their own genius, and even those at the bottom of the structure have benefited far more than they could have under any other system!
You say that you are against the greedy and their ill gotten gains? I agree completely that everyone, regardless of societal standing or any other factor, should be held accountable for their actions by the same standard of justice that we all are. However, what you are purposing would make you the greedy one, because you are seeking to gain, without work, that which you did not earn. You would be the unscrupulous one, because your wealth was taken from another by force. This is what psychiatrists call projection.
So, after reading my opinion, I'm sure you must think that I'm one of those evil %1er's. Well, I do consider myself extremely wealthy. I have a 1200 square foot, two bedroom apartment home which we rent, it's situated in a great community with a creek running through it and a little forest on the property. There are big grassy areas for the kids to play and a nice little playground and a pool. Many of our friends from church live in the same apartment complex, so playmates or emergency help is never far away. I am married to a spectacular man who is dedicated enough to our family that he works a full time, labor intensive job, and goes to school full time to better our circumstances, and allow me to stay home with the children. This also gives me time to bargain hunt, forage, dumpster dive, and make all our food from scratch, so we can have a diverse, nutritionally rich and delicious diet, as well as many non-food creature comforts. My life is full of laughter and love and lots of hard work. Yes it can be very stressful, but I can see at the end of each day that I've accomplished something of eternal importance. I am so grateful for all that I have, I don't waste my time envying others who have more, it's bad for the spirit. Our net worth at this very moment? Less than $1000 before you factor in our debt (mostly medical, we don't use credit anymore), but we will continue to strive to better our circumstances, and as long as we live in a free nation, where it's possible for anyone with a little ingenuity and determination to prosper, I know things will keep getting better for us, and I've finally grown up enough to be patient with that process.
I find the occupy movement disturbing in it's nature, in that it is a vehicle for something far more sinister than a bunch of misguided and immature young people, but I'm not worried because I know you are not 99%. There are far more people that think like me than there are that think like you. You should be worried about who's supporting you and why. Did you know that if you make $10,000 a year or more, you are in the top 10% of wealth earners in the world? If you want to eat the rich, how do you think that 90% feels about you? Hmm, food for thought. I know you think this is good for your image, but make sure you know where you're standing and why, because this is a very dangerous game, and we all pay dearly if you win it, no matter what.
It has been this way for thousands of years of human history. Of course, some were very wealthy, the aristocracy lived in comfort feeding off the hard work of others like the parasites they were, and the vast majority of the population lived in squalor and desperation, never having access to medical care to treat even the most minor of medical problems, only wearing the clothes they were able to make from the few resources they had access to, spending every hour of every day engaged in back breaking labor, and never more than a hiccup away from starvation.
Then something happened, a miracle that changed man kind forever. A republic was born, liberty was had among people, free market capitalism was allowed to thrive for a time, leading to an industrial revolution. Goods and food began to be produced en-mass and people began to prosper. Despite an evil cancer growing within that threatens to destroy this prosperity to this day, one that rewards inadequacy and punishes excellence. Despite the attempt to curb the free market and discourage growth and prosperity with government regulations and bureaucratic intervention, these principles have still allowed mankind to live better and in more comfort than ever before.
I ask you, the average American, even the poorest of Americans, when was the last time you were really truly hungry and had no way to satisfy that hunger? When was the last time you were cold and had no where to seek shelter or obtain clothing? Because of the prosperity caused by capitalism, no one with even the tiniest amount of resourcefulness has to go without these basic necessities. Can you not see how amazingly spectacular that is?So, you want to tear down this system, which has provided all of us with this impossible amount of safety and comfort because you are having an adolescent tantrum about the debt you agreed to pay in exchange for getting something you wanted? Because someone has more than you, you think this means you're entitled to more than you've earned? Do you honestly think that freedom from debt and more material wealth will make you happy, when you haven't earned it honestly? Would you rather have things than self respect?
No, I get it. I was raised by the me generation too, in the age of self esteem and everyone gets a trophy, and don't try to be the best, because then those who aren't will feel bad. After all, emotions rule all, and any action is justifiable on the basis of emotion. When I had children, I started to grow up. Upon reflection, my attitude and actions never brought me happiness or security, in fact there was a deep unrest in my soul and I lived in constant fear of being exposed for the fraud and the leach I really was. I realized that my children would be more successful in life if they could earn for themselves self respect as opposed to being handed self esteem. So, we lead by example, we teach them the the value of hard work and the great joy of accomplishment.
What if you succeed at your goals? What if you were to take every body's money, put it in a big pot, and distribute it to every person on earth completely evenly? Of course this would never happen, we see that from history, every time a government is overthrown, an aristocracy always forms at the top in the void left behind, but lets pretend. I don't know if you've done the math, but if you take the world's total wealth, divided evenly, each man, woman and child on earth would receive somewhere around $17,935.31. That may sound like a lot for a moment, but it does not go far, especially when you factor in that you have just eliminated any possibility or motivation for anyone to produce goods, provide services, grow food, or create jobs. Why would anyone want to work hard when the fruits of their labors will be stolen and given to the bottom feeders of society, and if they did, where would they get the capital with which to get it done? You just stole all their money! Capitalism has nurtured ingenuity and encouraged innovation, because it allowed people to prosper from their own genius, and even those at the bottom of the structure have benefited far more than they could have under any other system!
You say that you are against the greedy and their ill gotten gains? I agree completely that everyone, regardless of societal standing or any other factor, should be held accountable for their actions by the same standard of justice that we all are. However, what you are purposing would make you the greedy one, because you are seeking to gain, without work, that which you did not earn. You would be the unscrupulous one, because your wealth was taken from another by force. This is what psychiatrists call projection.
So, after reading my opinion, I'm sure you must think that I'm one of those evil %1er's. Well, I do consider myself extremely wealthy. I have a 1200 square foot, two bedroom apartment home which we rent, it's situated in a great community with a creek running through it and a little forest on the property. There are big grassy areas for the kids to play and a nice little playground and a pool. Many of our friends from church live in the same apartment complex, so playmates or emergency help is never far away. I am married to a spectacular man who is dedicated enough to our family that he works a full time, labor intensive job, and goes to school full time to better our circumstances, and allow me to stay home with the children. This also gives me time to bargain hunt, forage, dumpster dive, and make all our food from scratch, so we can have a diverse, nutritionally rich and delicious diet, as well as many non-food creature comforts. My life is full of laughter and love and lots of hard work. Yes it can be very stressful, but I can see at the end of each day that I've accomplished something of eternal importance. I am so grateful for all that I have, I don't waste my time envying others who have more, it's bad for the spirit. Our net worth at this very moment? Less than $1000 before you factor in our debt (mostly medical, we don't use credit anymore), but we will continue to strive to better our circumstances, and as long as we live in a free nation, where it's possible for anyone with a little ingenuity and determination to prosper, I know things will keep getting better for us, and I've finally grown up enough to be patient with that process.
I find the occupy movement disturbing in it's nature, in that it is a vehicle for something far more sinister than a bunch of misguided and immature young people, but I'm not worried because I know you are not 99%. There are far more people that think like me than there are that think like you. You should be worried about who's supporting you and why. Did you know that if you make $10,000 a year or more, you are in the top 10% of wealth earners in the world? If you want to eat the rich, how do you think that 90% feels about you? Hmm, food for thought. I know you think this is good for your image, but make sure you know where you're standing and why, because this is a very dangerous game, and we all pay dearly if you win it, no matter what.
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